by P. Creeden
She blinked at him, the wrinkles in her brow smoothing as if she were confused. Oliver enjoyed a long moment of her staring directly into his eyes as though searching the depths of his soul. Then she looked away quickly, the tips of her ears reddening. His breath hitched. He liked that he had an effect on her. It made him want to tease her more.
Surrounded by the scents of different kinds of wood and sawdust, Oliver forgot his surroundings for a moment and relished in the perfect hue of Hannah’s skin. He’d nearly forgotten anyone else was present until Jake spoke again. “That’s settled then. Will you have ample time to finish the desks before we have the school-raising party in two weeks?”
Mr. Black nodded, a wide smile on his face. “For certain.”
A woman came around the corner of the shop, the sunlight glinting off the star pinned to her chest. She let out a big sigh. “There you are, Missy. The postman just brought in a bunch of letters, and one of them is from your family back east. Come with me down to the sheriff’s office and let’s see what your family has said.”
Missy’s eyes went wide, and she nodded toward everyone. “Sorry to run, Miss Walsh.”
Hannah smiled toward the girl and shook her head. “No need to apologize.”
And the girl took off, running a little bit ahead of the sheriff toward the west side of town. The carpenter asked Jake to help him with moving some wood around, and the two older men both made their leave. Oliver was left alone with Hannah a moment. He cleared his throat. “May I escort you, Miss Walsh?”
She blinked at him again, but her gaze only glanced across his before she turned her face from him and nodded. They began to stroll side by side through town, back to the southside of Brokken. Noting their direction was away from where most of the residents lived, he asked, “Do you reside near the hotel?”
The sunlight glinted off her hair, accenting the golden highlights in the brown waves. “I do. My family runs the livery almost directly across the street from the hotel.”
He nodded. “That’s helpful then, that the school session is held at the hotel for now.”
“Mrs. Sophie and Lavender are quite generous.”
“I’ve noticed.” He chuckled. “Lunch was served in quite generous portions for the hotel guests. I’m going to get quite robust in my figure as I stay there this term.”
She eyed him with a lifted brow. “You’re staying at the hotel? I thought you were staying with the mayor?”
He chuckled. “That was only last night as I came in on the late stage. I’ll be staying at the hotel the rest of the term. I’d have liked to find another residence, as close to the school as possible, but I’m not sure I’m staying past this semester if they already have a qualified teacher here in Brokken.”
Hannah’s step faltered, and he reached over to steady her, one hand catching her elbow while the other rested on the small of her back. She was close enough that he gained the distinct smell of mint from her hair. Her gaze met his, wide-eyed and fearful for only a moment, before that distinct fire came back again, and she righted herself, pulling from his grasp. “Pardon me.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle again as they started walking once more. Somehow, being with her made him feel light, like he had no need to limp, so that even the constant pressure of his false leg was eased. “It surprises you that I would yield the position to you so readily?”
The color drained from her face as she shook her head. “No... I mean yes... or rather, I don’t know.”
Why did it lighten his heart so much to see her flustered? He enjoyed it quite inordinately. He couldn’t help but smile at her again. He wasn’t used to this devilish attitude she brought up in him. She made him feel quite rakish. But all too soon, they reached the hotel. He glanced across the street and railroad tracks toward the livery. “Should I walk you the rest of the way?”
She jogged away from him, calling back. “No need, I can make my way from here.”
He stood at the front of the hotel, watching her dash away, wishing that she would turn and look at him once more before heading inside. And at the last moment she did. She glanced his direction, and even from this distance, he could see her eyes go wide and her face redden deliciously. He couldn’t remember ever feeling quite this way about a girl. She didn’t show him deference or pity. She didn’t try to manipulate him or even flirt with him. Her utter honesty charmed him, and he couldn’t wait to see where this term might take him.
Chapter 5
The next morning, when Hannah caught sight of Oliver sitting at the desk, writing, in the hotel kitchen, her heart fluttered. She swallowed, unsure of how she should behave around him, now that she didn’t quite hate him so much. When she hated him for taking her position, she knew exactly how she felt about him. But now that he’d deferred to her both in the classroom and at the carpenter’s, and even said that he believed her to be a competent teacher, things had changed. His words had soothed a very sore place in her heart. It was surprising that they came from the person she thought would be her rival for the position she’d pursued for so long.
Her breath hitched when he glanced up from his writing to smile at her. He stood from his seat and gave her a bow of the head while she approached. His crooked smile made the butterflies reappear in her stomach.
“Good morning, Miss Walsh,” he said, his deep voice velvety soft.
She swallowed past the lump in her throat before nodding and bobbing a curtesy. “Good morning, Mr. Holt.”
“I’ve been outlining how best to use our time this morning. If you’d like to see and suggest changes?” He stepped aside and gestured for her to sit at the chair he’d occupied a moment before and take a look at the paper on which he’d been writing.
She took the seat and looked over the schedule he’d made. He leaned forward from behind her and pointed toward the paper, the heat of his skin a fraction of an inch from her own cheek. She held her breath, not daring to move.
“If we start with the children, already separated by age, we can forgo the unnecessary introductions. Even while they eat the morning tart Lavender wishes to provide, the older children tend to eat faster than the younger.” His breath brushed against her neck as he pulled back.
A shiver went down her spine, but she suppressed it, still afraid to move. She let out a slow breath, willing her fluttering heart to stop beating against her ribs as though bars to a bird’s cage. When she spoke, her voice was higher pitched than she intended, “Yes, right. That sounds like an excellent plan.”
“Excellent. The children will be here shortly. Let’s go ahead and set up.” He stepped to the side and offered her a hand.
She took his hand, once again marveling at its warmth, and the feeling of its roughness against hers. His hand was so much bigger than hers. It enveloped hers with warmth and made her feel as though he was strong and could protect her. He released it and then walked with her as Lavender returned from the innards of the hotel.
“Good morning to both of you. Lovely day isn’t it?” Lavender asked.
Oliver met Hannah’s eyes with a smile that crinkled his in the corners. “It truly is lovely.”
Somehow, she had the feeling he wasn’t talking about the weather, but about her. Could that be possible? Did he think her lovely? No. She must have been mistaken. She swallowed and pulled her gaze from his as she set slates in front of each of the place settings, alongside the tarts that Lavender set out. Besides, Oliver hadn’t met Lydia yet. That thought turned her stomach and squeezed her heart. Even Mr. Forest had been taken with Lydia when he first came to Brokken. Every man was taken with Lydia’s beauty. Even though she was engaged to be married to Fritz in the spring, men still ogled her.
Hannah’s shoulders felt suddenly heavy as they drooped. Oliver would definitely change his mind when he saw Lydia. No one thought Hannah lovely once her older sister waltzed in. She sighed as the children started to arrive and hung the best smile she could muster upon her lips.
Oliver noticed the sudde
n change in Hannah’s demeanor once Lavender and the children started to arrive. Although she wasn’t clearly rejecting him as she had when she felt they were battling for the same position, she no longer met his gazes, and though she immersed herself with the children, she seemed melancholy. With a sigh, he worked through his day instead. He needed to stop allowing a woman he’d barely known two days have such a hold on his heart and emotions that he let her distract him from his profession. The children needed his full attention.
And once he gave them his full attention, he noticed another of his students seemed distracted with melancholy—Missy. It was quite the turnaround from the pleasant nature she’d shown the day before. When he had a chance and got his eldest student away from the other three, he brought her by his desk. “Is anything the matter, Missy? You’re not quite yourself today.”
She blinked at him, her eyes becoming watery. Her bottom lip pulled into her mouth, and she chewed on it while shaking her head.
He frowned. “It’s okay, Missy. Tell me your problem. Maybe I can help.”
She swallowed hard, opened her mouth and then closed it again. She looked away, shook her head, and then finally met eyes with him again, forcing a smile. “It’s nothing you can help me with, sir. It’s all right. Things will work out in the end, I’m certain.”
Oliver didn’t like being left in the dark, but perhaps this was something that he couldn’t deal with at all. Perhaps Missy had a delicate issue. He nodded, patted her shoulder, and then allowed Missy to go back to doing her schoolwork. Though she still seemed distracted, somehow opening up to him at least that much seemed to relieve her enough that she was able to put her problems aside and get her work completed for class.
The rest of the day went on well enough, though the melancholic tension over the classroom in the kitchen made the four hours pass slowly. When Hannah returned to the teacher’s desk at the end of the day with a stack of slates, Oliver pulled her to the side. “Missy’s not quite herself today. Though she won’t reveal to me what the matter is, perhaps she will it to you.”
Hannah frowned, her eyes fixing on the girl who was lingering in the kitchen, helping Lavender clean up. “Perhaps. I’ll ask her to walk home with me again and see if we can find out.”
Relief helped relax muscles in his body that he did not know held tension. He nodded. “Thank you.”
Her brow furrowed as she peered up at him again. “Talking doesn’t always help issues, you know?”
“I like to believe that when we share our burdens with others, the load is lightened, even if the other person cannot do anything to make the burden lighter physically.”
Her frown deepened. “I’ve never thought of it that way before.”
He offered her a friendly smile. “I’d hope that if you have problems that you might have a friend who you can talk to about them and have your burden lifted. If not, I’d be happy to be your friend.”
Her cheeks colored as her eyes widened. She swallowed before darting her gaze away. “Thank you for the offer, Mr. Holt.”
And she slipped away from him again, almost running from him as she rushed toward the doorway. Before stepping out, she stopped, turned back and spoke with Missy, and then the two young women left together. For some reason the fact that Hannah kept running from him only enticed him to want to chase her. Like a dog could not help but chase a rabbit when it runs. But he had no designs on hurting the woman. In fact, he wasn’t quite certain what his designs were, except for what he’d just offered her a moment before—friendship.
Chapter 6
Once Hannah walked with Missy toward home, she noticed what Oliver had been saying. For certain, Missy wasn’t quite herself. She leaned in toward her young friend and student. “Is something the matter?”
Missy blinked up at her, wide-eyed. “How could you tell?”
“Even your smile looks like a burden to you. When you’re deep in thought, you’re much like me—you stuff your problem down and try to hide it behind a smile.” They meandered on the walk back, taking their time, and heading toward the back of the livery where the fields for the horses’ turnout stretched for several acres. The horses’ tails swished as they pulled tufts of winter grass from the ground.
Missy leaned against the fence, her arms flopping over to the other side of the rail, and she rested her chin on the top board. “Sheriff Vic got a letter from my relatives back East. They said they cannot take me on as a ward at this time, and that we should look for other arrangements. They even gave the name of a Texas orphanage nearby.”
Dread poured over Hannah like cold water down her back. “Your family is rejecting you? You can’t live in an orphanage!”
Missy lifted her chin from the board and shook her head. “What choice do I have? I can’t impose on Sheriff Vic forever, and the people of Brokken are all starting new lives with new wives or husbands. They don’t have time for someone like me. And at thirteen, I’m a bit too young to marry yet either.”
Hannah’s breath hitched. “You’ve thought about this quite a bit.”
“It’s all I’ve been able to think about. I’ve hardly slept, and even Mr. Holt noticed that I struggled with my school work today.” Her voice shook as though she was barely able to hold back tears.
Hannah’s brain moved slower than her mouth. “We have an extra bed. Since Rebecca married and is building a new home with her husband Jake in the loft above the livery… and Lydia will be leaving soon to live at Brokken Arrow Ranch when she marries Fritz.”
Missy yanked back and blinked at Hannah. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“Yes, you can. It will just be me, Noah, and Mama. It will be too quiet anyway. There will be too much space. None of us are used to that. And we’ll need help, since Lydia does most of the cooking and cleaning. Those chores will fall on me, and I’m not the best at either one.” Hannah huffed a laugh, sheepishly.
“I’m great at cooking and cleaning. I had to do it all before, for me and Papa.” Missy pulled back from the fence, starting to look excited.
Hannah knew Missy’s history. Her mother had died in childbirth, and her father had been a harsh taskmaster, expecting too much from the girl at too young of an age. “I bet you are great at it. For certain, better than me.”
Missy’s eyes turned sad. “But do you think it will truly be okay. Will your Mama and Noah be all right with it? Won’t they protest to take on another mouth to feed?”
“Nonsense.” Hannah stood tall and determined. She’d never really asked for much of anything from her family. She didn’t confide in them. She didn’t ask them for support. The family had been dwindling away, starting, of course, when they lost their father and two older brothers in the War. Now her elder sisters were marrying and starting families of their own. And as each day passed, their mother seemed to fold in on herself. Perhaps inviting Missy into their family would help bring new life into their home. “Stay for tea and then I’ll talk to the Pastor about what we need to do, and he’ll help me convince the family. I’m sure of it.”
“I’d hate to impose, but I promise to help with chores as much as I possibly can.” Missy clasped her hands together in front of her, looking something other than morose for the first time that morning.
Hannah took Missy’s hands in both of hers. “In life there are things that we earn, and there is grace. Even if you can never earn back what you take, you have to show gratitude to God for providing what you don’t deserve. Don’t try to earn grace. God will provide a home for you no matter what happens.”
Missy’s eyes welled with tears. “Thank you. I’ve been praying a lot.”
“I’m not surprised to hear it.” She gave Missy’s hands a gentle squeeze before releasing them. “Now then, let’s have some tea and sandwiches.”
“Sounds delicious.”
That evening, Oliver went for a stroll through town. He’d gotten used to walking as much as he could while on campus at the University in Charlottesville, Virginia. The land in B
rokken was fairly flat in comparison to the town near the Appalachian Mountains, and it made walking without a cane that much easier for him. He’d always felt that the more he practiced, the better able to walk he’d become, and without practice, he might need to rely on a cane like he had when he’d first received his false leg.
Brokken’s population was smaller than he was used to back home, and from what he’d heard, there had been a great deal of growth in the past year. He nodded greetings to those he met along the way, until one couple stopped him. The gentleman removed his hat. “Good afternoon, Mr. Holt. My son tells me that you’re the most educated teacher we’ve had here in Brokken. He sings your praises better than he used to with ole Miss Edna.”
Oliver removed his hat as well and accepted the man’s hand to shake. “I’m not certain that’s true. Miss Edna had been teaching on the better side of 40 years. I can only hope to have such a great influence on the generations as she has.”
The man’s brow tightened for a moment before relaxing. “Well, anyway, thank you for coming to Brokken. I hope you’ll stay as long as Miss Edna was here, too.”
“Thank you for the warm welcome.”
They both dipped their heads again and then walked on, replacing their hats. Wearing a hat was another custom Oliver had been getting used to. Back in Virginia, as a student, he rarely wore one, but here in Texas, he’d be left feeling exposed without it. First, he headed north of town to peer at the beautiful lake there. He’d stayed till the sun dipped below the horizon and then walked back through town in the last vestiges of sunlight that remained before darkness fell like a curtain. As he continued back toward the hotel, he found his feet walking past it and toward the light of the blacksmith’s shop. The shop shined like beacon in an otherwise fully dark part of town. The breeze carried the sound of the farrier’s hammer ringing against the anvil with each swing. Inside the open shop, Jake Wheeler stood, holding a chestnut mare.